Fort Totten State Historic Site

The Fort Totten State Historic Site got its start in 1867 when soldiers built a log structure that in no time was enlarged and expanded to include dozens of buildings. The purpose of this fort was to protect the Totten Trail, an overland route which extended across Dakota Territory from southern Minnesota to the goldfields of western Montana, and later to control and protect the Totten Indian Reservation. The military fort was decommissioned in 1891 and became the Indian Boarding School until 1935, then from 1935 to 1939 it was the Tuberculosis Preventorium, then in 1940 it was the Fort Totten Community School un til 1959. The Stat Historical Society of North Dakota came in 1960 to present time. Many children that went to school here and their family members still come to see the Fort. Some tell us of what it was like and others come to see the history. There is a lot more history to explore. Please come and experience the past in one of our 16 original buildings. For more images of Fort Totten, go to the photo gallery